“Bella…” Angelo warned with a frustrated groan.
“Shut it,” I told him quietly, then nodded to the girl’s phone. “Did you want a picture with Rhett? I can take it for you.”
She practically dropped her phone with how fast she unlocked the camera and handed it over to me, babbling thanks and yeses. Rhett shot me a dark look but extended an arm for the girl to step closer for the photo. Poor thing nearly fainted when he draped his arm over her shoulders for the picture, and I took a few to make sure I captured a good one of her.
“What’s your name, hon?” he asked politely now that I’d shamed him for being a dick.
The girl was practically hyperventilating as she replied. “Um, it’s, umily. I mean. Oh my god. Emily. I’m Emily. My friends call me Em.”
Rhett turned up his charm as he shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Em. Sorry for being a dick before. Did you also want a photo with Angelo? He’s the newest member of Bellerose and quite the heartthrob, don’t ya think?” He indicated to Angel with a grin, waggling his brows.
There was no time for Angelo to flip him off as Emily gasped. “Yes! Oh my god, I wasn’t sure… He seemed like a bodyguard. Can I? I’m such a huge fan. Is it true that you and Jace grew up together?”
Angelo smoothly answered her questions and posed for photos before I handed her phone back. Then she looked at me with a shy smile.
“You’re Billie, right? Like… BillieBellerose? Could I take a photo with you, too? My friends are going todiewhen they see these.” She waved her hand to the outdoor seating area where her friends must have gone to eat.
I winced, not wanting to say no but also not wanting to feed the online Billie-haters. These pictureswouldend up online before the end of the day, after all.
“How about one of all of us?” Rhett quickly offered as he grabbed the shop worker who was refilling the condiments nearby. After asking them to take the picture, he pulled me into his side, and we all smiled for the shot right as our order number got called.
Emily gushed her thanks over and over, mostly to Rhett, as I grabbed the bags of food from the pickup counter, then the three of us hurried back out to the car before Emily’s friends heard the news.
“What happened?” Jace asked with a worried frown when we climbed back into the SUV. How he knew something had happened, I had no idea. Maybe he was just guessing based on our track record.
“Nothing,” I replied with a frown. “Chill, Adams. No one tried to kill us at Hole-y Crunch.”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Nothing?”
“Rhett got spotted by a fan,” Angelo spilled casually, “and then was a dick, so Billie smoothed it over and let the girl take a pic. No big deal, bro.”
The panic in Jace’s expression was undeniable as he inhaled. “No big deal? What if she’d tried something? What if she’d been like—”
I cut him off with a firm tone. “She wasn’t.” My hand cupped his cheek, bringing his wild eyes around to meet mine. “Your fans love you, and while your fear after what happened to Tess is totally understandable, you can’t keep hiding from them. And you especially can’t treat them all like they’re your enemy. This girl didn’t mean any harm, okay?”
He scowled back at me, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. “What if she did? I can’t lose you again, Rose.”
“We can’t live our lives afraid of what-ifs,” I replied with a small shrug. Because we really couldn’t. If we were too scared to leave the house, that was no way to live.
“Billie’s right,” Grayson agreed as he drove us home. “We never have guarantees. A meteor might hit the earth tomorrow and wipe us all out, ending our story right then and there. We can’t live in fear of the unknown, so the important thing is to make the most of every moment we have.”
“Deep, bro,” Rhett murmured, his mouth full as he nodded.
Jace still frowned, though, so I pressed my mouth to his, licking along his lower lip and coaxing him into kissing me back. He groaned, then slid his hand into my hair to take control.
“So… did you want me to save your bagel for later, then?” Rhett asked amusement in his voice.
Jace’s response was to unclip my seatbelt and haul me into his lap so I straddled his hard bulge. He was really taking that “make the most of every moment” advice literally, and he wasn’t getting any complaints from me. Thank fuck I was in a stretchy knit dress, because it took nearly no effort at all to hitch it right up over my hips so I could grind against him better.
“Are you two planning on fucking or just dry humping?” Rhett drawled from his position in the passenger’s seat. “I’m okay with both, just deciding whether I should put my bagel down or not.”
Jace’s fingers trailed over the thin, wet fabric of my panties, his lips leaving mine ever so briefly. “Shut up, Silver.” Then he tugged my panties aside and plunged two fingers into my pussy, making me moan like a porn star.
I tipped my head to the side, letting Jace kiss my throat as I locked eyes with Angelo. His gaze was pure fire, and I knew I’d get no complaints if wedidfuck properly. Grayson was more than capable of keeping us on the road without getting distracted. Probably. Screw it, I was already so turned on I’d lost all sense of restraint.
Grinning, I unbuckled Jace’s belt and freed him from his suit pants. He wore no underwear and was so hot and hard in my hand I wondered if he’d been sporting that erection all morning.
“Seriously?” Grayson growled when Jace made a shuddering moan as I pumped my hand.
